The present invention relates to a carton and a blank for forming the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a carton incorporating a beam structure adapted to fit in the recess between interconnected cups or pots of so-called brick packages, for example.
Such groupings may constitute a single pair or any other desired arrangement such as two rows of two packages each, two rows of three, four or five packages each or greater number of rows desired number of containers. Ordinarily, such containers are relatively small and in order to provide for efficient handling during shipment and displays in retail outlets, it is desirable to stack the articles in tiers one above the other.
For the purposes of this application, each cup or pot is considered to represent a separate article. Some cups or pots are subdivided into separate sections (e.g. yoghurt pots in which the flavoring is in a separate section from the yoghurt).
This invention relates particularly to a beam structure which interconnects a carton side or top wall with its base wall such that the longitudinal axis of the beam is inclined relative to the plane of the carton's top wall and engages with a recess between adjacent pots.
Previous beams have required the carton to be applied to an upright article grouping from below. Examples of such cartons are disclosed in EP 0 972 718 A1 to Goossens Beauvais and FR 2 423 399 to Calvert.
One problem of such cartons is that they are incompatible with conventional wraparound packaging machinery in which the carton is applied to the article grouping from above or below and is wrapped around the article grouping.